Be proud, small-business owners! You're now the most trusted group in America. Listen up, federal government! You're neglecting small business — and most people think so.

According to the just-released study by the highly respected Pew Research Center, small business is the most trusted institution in America. More than churches. More than colleges. More than technology companies. And certainly more than labor unions or large corporations.

But we're neglected. When asked about which groups were getting too much or too little attention from the government, Americans felt small business was getting dealt the worst hand. Hey, elected officials, listen up! Small business is one of the few groups Americans want to get more government attention.

The Pew Center's study got enormous media attention — but not about small business. The media coverage focused on how little Americans trust their government. But buried in the report was the fact that there is an institution almost all Americans still trust: small business.

So I picked up the phone and called the Pew Center. I wanted to learn more.

The results were "striking," according to Carroll Dougherty, Pew's Associate Director. "At a time when a lot of institutions are viewed negatively, small business is viewed very positively. What's really interesting is that large corporations are viewed almost as negatively as Wall Street. The contrast between large corporations and small business is enormous."

"So much of this survey is partisan," Dougherty continued. "In this case, it's bipartisan. It crosses party lines." 72% of Republicans, 70% of Democrats and 73% of independents say small businesses have a positive effect on the way things are going in the country.

Let's look at the numbers of how some groups are viewed as to whether they have a positive or negative effect on this country:

PUBLIC'S
NEGATIVE VIEWS OF INSTITUTIONS

Effect on the way things
are going in the country (in percent)

Postive

Negative

Other/ Don't know

Small business

71

19

10

Technology companies

68

18

14

Churches & religious orgs

63

22

15

Colleges & universities

61

26

13

Obama administration

45

45

10

Entertainment industry

33

51

16

Labor unions

32

49

18

Federal agencies and depts

31

54

16

National news media

31

57

12

Large corporations

25

64

12

Federal government

25

65

9

Congress

24

65

12

Banks & financial inst

22

69

10

Pew Research Center March 11-21. Figures may
not add to 100% because of rounding

The Pew Center also asked which groups get too much or too little attention from the federal government. Here, small business even beat out the "middle class" as seen as being neglected by our government:

WHO
GETS TOO MUCH ATTENTION, TOO LITTLE FROM FED. GOVT.?

In percentages

Too much

Right amount

Too little

Don't know

Small business

8

20

69

3

Middle class

9

22

66

4

Poor people

17

22

56

5

Labor unions

34

30

26

11

Business leaders

45

26

20

9

Wall Street

50

25

16

9

Pew Research Center March 11-21. Figures may
not add to 100% because of rounding

Once again, this wasn't a partisan issue. 73% of Republicans, 67% of Democrats and 68% of independents say small businesses get less attention than they should from the federal government.

These favorable attitudes toward small business explain why politicians — of every party — shout their affection for small business when they're running for office. (Remember "Joe the Plumber"?) But once they're in office, these same politicians — of every party — neglect us.

Why is that? Because while Americans trust us, we don't have much political power. Not nearly as much as huge corporations, banks, labor unions or lobbyists.

But while we may not have power to change our government, we do have power to change our world. Because we create most of the new jobs (65 percent of all new jobs are created by small companies). We have the power to innovate. And we have the power to create good working environments for our employees.

So the next time you're with a group of people who own small business — or heck, you even look in the mirror — take pride! You're part of the group your fellow Americans trust most.

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